Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- 2009 revenues increase 10% from previous year, helped by rising prices
- Ticket volume increases 12% in 2009 due to heavy discounting in recession
- Average ticket price more than doubles over 12-year period to about $63
- Top 100 tours represent more than half of total market revenue
- Top 50 venues in leading markets responsible for 90% of top tour volume
- Arenas leading venue segment for ticket sales; losing share to festivals
- Live Nation, Ticketmaster merger expected to shake up how industry is run
- Music sponsorship spending totals $1.08 billion in 2009, up 3.8% from 2008
- Consumer survey findings
Insights and Opportunities
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- Follow zero-tolerance rule with incentive for fans to purchase legitimately
- Start a loyalty program by lowering prices for hardcore fans
- Invest in mobile ticketing to drive box office convenience, sales
Inspire Insights
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- Trend: Advertising Everywhere
- Advertising now involves multi-platforms and consumer involvement
- Advertisers need to participate with fans opposed to direct sponsorships
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- 2009 revenues increase 10% from previous year, helped by rising prices
- Ticket volume increases 12% in 2009 due to heavy discounting in recession
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- Figure 1: Total U.S. concert industry ticket sale revenues, at current prices, 2004-14
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- Figure 2: Total U.S. concert industry ticket sale revenues, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2004-14
- Figure 3: Average ticket price for the top 100 tours, 1997-2009
- Figure 4: Total tickets sold for the top 100 tours, 2003-09
- Top 100 tours represent more than half of total market revenue
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- Figure 5: Total ticket grosses of the top 100 tours, at current prices, 2004-14
- Figure 6: Total ticket grosses of the top 100 tours, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2004-14
Segment Performance
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- Key points
- Top 50 venues in leading markets responsible for 90% of top tour volume
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- Figure 7: Total tickets sold for the top 100 tours, 2003-09
- Arenas leading venue segment for ticket sales; losing share to festivals
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- Figure 8: U.S. tickets sold, by venue or site, 2007 and 2009*
Segment Performance—Arenas
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- Key points
- Arenas offer more revenue potential than competing venues
- Madison Square Garden dominates arena ticket volume at 7% of market
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- Figure 9: Top 10 U.S. arenas per tickets sold, 2009
Segment Performance—Amphitheaters
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- Key points
- Amphitheaters at risk due to rising gas prices, aging infrastructure
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- Figure 10: Top 10 U.S. amphitheaters, by tickets sold, 2009
Segment Performance—Theaters
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- Key points
- Generous capacities, amenities make theaters safer bets for promoters
- Radio City Music Hall dominates theater ticket volume sales
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- Figure 11: Top 10 U.S. theaters per tickets sold, 2009
Segment Performance—Clubs
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- Key points
- Clubs establish close ties with community, ticket buyers
- House of Blues franchise threatens regional club operators
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- Figure 12: Top 10 U.S. clubs, by tickets sold, 2009
Segment Performance—Outdoor Stadium/Festival Sites
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- Key points
- Of top 100 stadium/sites, only 33 are in the U.S.
- Destination festivals driving stadium/outdoor site segment
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- Figure 13: Top 10 U.S. outdoor stadium/festival sites, by tickets sold, 2009
Market Drivers
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- Live Nation, Ticketmaster merger expected to shake up how industry is run
- Competition worries merger will force them to share revenues with Live Nation
- Merger will put majority of A-list touring talent under Live Nation’s control
- Proposed bills designed to force more transparency in ticketing process
- Corporate ticket spending faring better in 2010 than previous year
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- Figure 14: Venues with above-average corporate-owned ticket volumes, 2009
- Total corporate sponsorship spending expected to grow 3.4% in 2010
- Music sponsorship spending totals $1.08 billion in 2009, up 3.8% from 2008
- Music spending increases from categories not typically music-oriented
- Sponsorship categories expanding as music events become more lifestyle-oriented
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- Figure 15: Music sponsorship spending on entertainment venues and tours, 2006-09
- Average ticket price more than doubles over 12-year period to about $63
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- Figure 16: Average ticket price for the top 100 tours, 1997-2009
- Live Nation’s “360 deals” driving up artist exclusivity, ticket prices
- University venues becoming more prominent players in market
- Declining music sales may create ripple effect on future box office sales
- Entertainment venues both isolated from, affected by declining music sales
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- Figure 17: Top-grossing world tours, 1997-2009
Promotion Channels
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- Key points
- About 83% of market controlled by two leaders: Live Nation and AEG Live
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- Figure 18: Top 10 U.S. promoters, by tickets sold, 2007 and 2009
- Live Nation controls half of the top 10 concerts of 2009; AEG four
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- Figure 19: Top 10 U.S. concert grosses, 2009
- Promotion companies set prices, control costs of entertainment events
Promotion Channels—Live Nation Inc.
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- Key points
- North American revenues drop 4% in 2009 while international rises 11%
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- Figure 20: Live Nation revenues, at current and constant prices, 2004-09
- Figure 21: Live Nation revenue streams, 2008 and 2009
Promotion Channels—AEG Live
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- Key points
- AEG Live controls 21% of ticket volume sales, second to Live Nation
- Cancelled 50-date Michael Jackson residency in London creates setback
- Company avoids amphitheater market in favor of arenas, theaters, clubs
Promotion Channels—Other
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- Key points
- Regional players control 20% of the live entertainment market
- Field Entertainment
- MSG Entertainment
- Jam Productions
- C3 Presents
The Secondary Ticket Market
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- Key points
- A fifth of respondents pay either up to $49 or up to $149 at broker sites
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- Figure 22: Price paid over ticket’s face value via third-party broker, December 2009
- Primary market battles to keep revenues from secondary market
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- Figure 23: Top 20 secondary ticket sellers, February 2010
Innovation and Innovators
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- Live Nation promotes special discount day covering several price points
- FanSnap consolidates broker sites, allows users to set alerts for seats
- Festivals offer presale, layaway offers to help consumers in recession
- Ticketmaster finds success with paperless ticketing for 1 million fans
Advertising and Promotion
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- Social media can be used to not just inform, but to entertain consumers
- Twitter allows operators to target consumers market by market
- Multi-platform partnership with ABC used to buoy the return of Lilith Fair
- Partnerships with credit card companies, sponsors provide fan exclusivity
- Online promotions allow venue, tour operators to track consumer info
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- Figure 24: U.S. online advertising spending, 2008-13
- Live music events are often partnered with resorts, casinos, parks
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- Figure 25: SeaWorld San Antonio ad, 2010
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- Figure 26: Universal Orlando Resort ad, 2010
Consumer Frequency at Live Entertainment Events
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- Key points
- Majority of respondents not seeing concerts; a third more frequent
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- Figure 27: Consumer frequency at live entertainment events, by gender, December 2009
- Frequency of one to four concerts ever six months appeals to those aged 18-24
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- Figure 28: Consumer frequency at live entertainment events, by age, December 2009
- More than half of all household income groups do not attend live music events
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- Figure 29: Consumer frequency at live entertainment events, by household income, December 2009
Where Consumers Go For Live Music Events
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- Key points
- Sports arenas rule as top choice; street fests an alternative to paid events
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- Figure 30: Where consumers attend live music events, by gender, December 2009
- Younger respondents more inclined to attend arenas; older less so
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- Figure 31: Where consumers attend live music events, by age, December 2009
- Small clubs are favored evenly, from low-income households to high
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- Figure 32: Where consumers attend live music events, by household income, December 2009
What Motivates Consumers to Purchase Tickets
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- Key points
- Artist loyalty is what motivates ticket sales the most among respondents
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- Figure 33: What motivates consumers to purchase a ticket to a live music event, by gender, December 2009
- Adults outside college age show more openness to seeing unknown artists
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- Figure 34: What motivates consumers to purchase a ticket to a live music event, by age, December 2009
- Upper-income households most motivated by pop charts, online hits
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- Figure 35: What motivates consumers to purchase a ticket to a live music event, by household income, December 2009
What Prevents Consumers from Purchasing Tickets
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- Key points
- Ticket prices, fees, dominate why consumers staying away from venues
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- Figure 36: What prevents consumers from purchasing tickets, by gender, December 2009
- All under-65s are concerned about high ticket prices
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- Figure 37: What prevents consumers from purchasing tickets, by age, December 2009
- Households up to $100K+ equally turned off by high ticket prices
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- Figure 38: What prevents consumers from purchasing tickets, by household income, December 2009
Ancillary Items Purchased at Live Music Events
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- Key points
- Food, drink rate highest among concert-goers; T-shirt highest non-food item
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- Figure 39: Ancillary items purchased at live music events, by gender, December 2009
- Alcoholic drink purchasing goes to age 35 before dropping to below half
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- Figure 40: Ancillary items purchased at live music events, by age, December 2009
- Households earning $75K and more double rates for posters, programs
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- Figure 41: Ancillary items purchased at live music events, by household income, December 2009
How Consumers Learn About Entertainment Events
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- Key points
- Broadcast media rule as the primary way to reach music fans
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- Figure 42: How consumers learn about entertainment events, by gender, December 2009
- Broadcast media rule; online, print ads switch as respondents age
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- Figure 43: How consumers learn about entertainment events, by age, December 2009
- Online rises in importance once households reach $75K and above
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- Figure 44: How consumers learn about entertainment events, by household income, December 2009
How Consumers Purchase Tickets to Live Music Events
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- Key points
- Half of respondents purchasing though Ticketmaster; a fifth in person
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- Figure 45: How consumers purchase tickets to live music events, by gender, December 2009
- Ticketmaster dominant choice of majority of households earning $50K+
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- Figure 46: How consumers purchase tickets to live music events, by household income, December 2009
Race and Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Hispanics most active participants in live music attendance
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- Figure 47: Consumer frequency at live music events, by race and Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Blacks, Hispanics more likely to attend street festivals compared to whites
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- Figure 48: Where consumers attend live entertainment events, by race and Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Hispanics more likely motivated by environment than are blacks, whites
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- Figure 49: What motivates consumers to purchase a ticket to a live music event, by race and Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Hispanics most active purchasers at live entertainment events
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- Figure 50: Ancillary items purchased at live music events, by race and Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Broadcast media most popular with blacks, Hispanics
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- Figure 51: How consumers learn about entertainment events, by race and Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Hispanics more likely to use purchase at venue box office than peers
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- Figure 52: How consumers purchase tickets to live music events, by race and Hispanic origin, December 2009
Cluster Analysis
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- Explorers
- Who they are
- Opportunity
- Groupies
- Who they are
- Opportunity
- Blanks
- Who they are
- Opportunity
- Cluster characteristics
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- Figure 53: Entertainment venue clusters, December 2009
- Figure 54: Venue preference, by entertainment venue clusters, December 2009
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- Figure 55: Reasons for purchasing tickets to entertainment venues, by entertainment venue clusters, December 2009
- Figure 56: Ancillary items purchased at entertainment venues, by entertainment venue clusters, December 2009
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- Figure 57: Media preference, by entertainment venue clusters, December 2009
- Figure 58: How tickets are purchased to entertainment events, by entertainment venue clusters, December 2009
- Cluster demographics
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- Figure 59: Entertainment venue clusters, by gender, December 2009
- Figure 60: Entertainment venue clusters, by age, December 2009
- Figure 61: Entertainment venue clusters, by household income, December 2009
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- Figure 62: Entertainment venue clusters, by race, December 2009
- Figure 63: Entertainment venue clusters, by Hispanic origin, December 2009
- Cluster methodology
Appendix: Other Useful Consumer Tables
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- Ticket purchasing and age
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- Figure 64: How consumers purchase tickets to live music events, by age, December 2009
- What prevents ticket purchasing by race and Hispanic origin
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- Figure 65: What prevents consumers from purchasing tickets, by race and Hispanic origin, December 2009
Appendix: Trade Associations
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